Now Mr. Ai is answering the guards’ request in a different key. He is presenting them, and the world, with his first heavy-metal music video, one with detailed re-creations of scenes from his 81 days of detention. He also portrays fantasies he imagines flitting through the guards’ minds. Mr. Ai posted the video on a Web site, aiweiwei.com, on Wednesday morning, Beijing time.
— nytimes.com

Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to the charismatic artist, as well as his family and others close to him, while working as a journalist in Beijing. In the years she filmed, government authorities shut down Ai's blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention--while Time Magazine named him a runner-up for 2011's Person of the Year... Klayman's compelling documentary portrait is the inside story of a passionate dissident for the digital age...
— youtube.com

The controversial artist has already received more than 6,000 yuan ($958,000) from more than 22,200 people.

While many have sent money via post and the internet, other have resorted to rather unconventional methods -- folding bank notes into paper planes and throwing them into Ai's garden at night.
— cnn.com

It seems unlikely, however, that Mr Ai will be allowed to take up his post in Germany in the near-term. Speaking from his studio in Beijing, he said that he had accepted the position when it was offered two months ago, but that the conditions of his release from prison at the end of June stipulate he has to remain in the Chinese capital.
— telegraph.co.uk

We're excited to announce the release of the first issue in the Archinect Zine! This is a collaboration between Archinect and our friend Christian Chaudhari's publishing initiative Friction House. Creator and producer of the Archinect Zine is Christian Chaudhari, LA-based architect, writer... View full entry »

Forget petitions: art professionals are showing their support for detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in increasingly creative ways. Last week, Milwaukee-based Mike Brenner shaved his head into a style reminiscent of Ai's outside the Milwaukee Art Museum as a show of support for the artist, who has been missing for over two months.
— artinfo.com

It’s in no country’s interest to have such a renown and creative citizen behind bars. It is particularly awkward for China’s rulers to oppress the man who designed the venue for their coming out party. Moreover, in its quest to climb the economic value chain and provide its millions of new graduates with jobs, China is at a moment where it needs to embrace creativity, to innovate and to develop the arts, entertainment and other high-value sectors.
— globalpost.com

FAT Lab member Greg Leuch’s browser plugins have been mainly whimsical (abolishing mentions of folks like Justin Bieber and Charlie Sheen), but now, the developer has gone political with the release of China Blocker. It serves as a protest against the detainment of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
— mashable.com

Ai’s family said that police had never informed them about the charges before the Xinhua report. Ai’s sister, Gao Ge, said, “Fa-Ke Cultural is not Ai Weiwei’s company, and the police have not met with the company’s legal representative.” According to Hong Kong media Apple Daily, the company is registered and belongs to Ai’s wife, Lu Qing.
— Epoch Times

One of Ai Weiwei’s better known works is “Study of Perspective,” a series of first-person photographs in which the artist gives the finger to various landmarks around the world, including the Forbidden City. A Cuban artist recently made a similar gesture, projecting a massive portrait of Mr. Ai along the side of the Chinese consulate building in New York City.
— blogs.wsj.com